This disclosure relates generally to a diagnostic imaging system, and more particularly to a diagnostic imaging system having a patient support apparatus for physically supporting the patient during imaging by an imaging device of the diagnostic imaging system. In its most immediate sense, the disclosure relates to a diagnostic imaging system having a nuclear medicine imaging device and a patient support apparatus for supporting the patient during imaging by the nuclear medicine imaging device.
Nuclear medicine imaging assesses the radionuclide distribution within a patient after an in vivo administration of radiopharmaceuticals. The imaging systems that assess the radionuclide distribution include radiation detectors and associated electronics. The assessment includes detecting a nuclear decay event, where each detected nuclear decay event is referred to as a count.
In one prior art nuclear medicine imaging system using an emission camera the patient is supported on a table providing a single fixed planar surface for the patient to lie on. The emission camera is provided within the inner walls of a chamber formed within a tunnel shaped structure. The table is mobile for being received within the chamber. By rotating the emission camera relative to the patient, the emission camera images the patient at a variety of angles for acquiring image data in 3-dimensions. The patient is expected to remain still during the duration of the imaging study. Disadvantages associated with positioning the patient on the table and within the chamber include discomfort related to claustrophobia, discomfort remaining stationary and supine on the planar table, and isolation of the patient from medical practitioners.
Another prior art nuclear medicine imaging system includes an imaging device supported on an arm supported by a structure, such as a gantry or a wall, and a patient support apparatus configured as a table or pallet, where the table provides a single fixed planar surface for the patient to lie on. The gantry and/or arm is adjustable for moving the imaging device so that the patient supported on the table is in the field of view of the imaging device. Disadvantages associated with positioning the patient on the table during imaging using the supported imaging device include patient discomfort and difficulty in remaining stationary without shifting position for the duration of the imaging study.
In a prior art nuclear medicine imaging system described by U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0176676, a chair-type patient support apparatus is provided. The described imaging device may be provided in combination with the patient support apparatus or as a separate unit. The chair may be positioned in an upright position or a reclining position. The chair may be provided with a back, seat and leg support, where the back and seat may be rotated relative to one another about a hinge, and the seat and leg support may be rotated relative to one another about a hinge.
Disadvantages associated with the chair-type patient support apparatus described is that supportive material used for the back, seat and leg support sections of the chair for supporting the patient's weight contributes to undesirable attenuation of radiation emitted during the imaging study. The materials forming each of the back, seat and leg must be sufficiently strong to provide the necessary support, and accordingly must have the necessary thickness and denseness to provide the support. The material of the portion of the chair that contacts the patient near a region of interest (ROI) being imaged contributes the most significant attenuation. For example, during a cardiac imaging study in which a patient is seated in a reclining position with the back of the patient supported by the back portion of the chair, the material of the chair contacting the back of the patient that is behind the heart of the patient contributes the most significant attenuation.
Furthermore, there are limitations to the positions that the chair may assume. Additionally, the chair size is fixed, and the shape of each of the back, seat and leg support elements is fixed. The chair is not configurable for patients of different sizes or shapes, or for accommodating different types of imaging studies corresponding to different ROIs (e.g., cardiac, prostrate, etc.). A close juxtaposition of the camera relative to the ROI contributes to good image quality. The camera may include a single-head or dual-head detector which needs to be positioned as closely as possible to the ROI. The structure of the chair is likely to interfere with placement of the camera in close juxtaposition to a ROI of a patient when the chair is used for a variety of different types of imaging studies which correspond to different ROIs and the use of single or double-head detectors.
To overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a nuclear medicine imaging system having a patient support apparatus that is configurable for minimizing attenuation during an imaging study, where the patient support apparatus is used for a variety of different types of imaging studies which correspond to different ROIs.
It is a further aspect of the present disclosure to provide a nuclear medicine imaging system having a patient support apparatus that is configurable for accommodating patients of different sizes and shapes.
It is a further aspect of the present disclosure to provide a nuclear medicine imaging system having a patient support apparatus that is configurable for allowing of a camera of the imaging system to be in close juxtaposition to a ROI of a patient, where the patient support apparatus is used for a variety of different types of imaging studies which correspond to different ROIs.